Eyes Wide – When It’s Raining EP
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: December 6, 2011
When I say we live in a world of oversaturation, it doesn’t feel groundbreaking or even particularly interesting. We all know this, on some level, and for the most part, refuse to believe it. These days everything is available in one billion different forms, and we pretend like this is somehow a good or healthy thing. It seems too easy to say that we have this proliferation because we ask for it and we never say no. More likely, we have all of these things because there are more of us than ever before, and not everyone can be some sort of creative force. So we borrow (read: steal) and hope that people are too dumb to notice or too lazy to care. It’s how a band like Eyes Wide or Citizen or Real Friends can have even the smallest fanbase. We say, because A works, so too must B. It’s some sort of running-in-circles equation.
And yes, fine, the differences between “dark” pop-punk bands who dream of mini-stardom on the No Sleep/Run For Cover main stage are absolutely miniscule. It usually comes down to how much money was spent in production and how much brainpower was spent on lyrics. The rest is kind of interchangeable. If all of this sounds very negative right now, that’s because I am sad and weird. Because honestly, I love the When It’s Raining EP. It surprised me and brought back to life this sort of thinking (sad) man’s music that I became addicted to during the last half of 2011. Back then my mind was in a place where I could internalize, “Like it mattered to the ones around you who let their dreams all rot to shit / I never claimed I got the chance to change my fucking life / But I, at least I tried” These sorts of sentiments, the type you only think after a crisis or, more likely, bad couple days at work, need a certain type of mind to receive them. So maybe it’s a bummer I can connect again, but whatever.
Eyes Wide, however, don’t deserve to be lumped in completely with all of these other bands. (And I realize I’m saying this in the third paragraph, but screw it.) Their ability to build from the three-chord format into something stronger and memorable makes for songs that sound alike but don’t run together. “Derailleur” basks in grungy overtones and drumming so perfectly timed you can’t help but tap along. Opener “When It’s Raining” inches its way along with snare drums until bursting into the album’s most overtly punk song. It all crunches with guitars so pleasing you almost feel bad if you don’t immediately repeat it. (Or, god forbid, air guitar.)
Despite what I think having too much of one thing says about us, something like Eyes Wide is not a bad thing; Mostly because this is much better than the bands they call their peers. It’s more thoughtful, crushing and redeemable. No EP will last forever, and this one is no different. But if we’re going to cram things down our throat so readily, we can at least try to make it interesting things like When It’s Raining.
Recommended If You Like: Citizen, Real Friends, Daylight
"When I say we live in a world of oversaturation, it doesn’t feel groundbreaking or even particularly interesting. We all know this, on some level, and for the most part, refuse to believe it. These days everything is available in one billion different forms, and we pretend like this is somehow a good or healthy thing. It seems too easy to say that we have this proliferation because we ask for it and we never say no."
I couldn't agree more. I've been trying to clean out my iTunes of stuff I simply "like" because I have plenty that I love and a limited amount of memory left on my hard drive.
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